Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents With and Without Chronic Pain

Suicidal ideation (SI) is common during adolescence and may have lethal outcomes. Despite evidence of the high prevalence and impact of suicidality in adults with chronic pain (CP), remarkably little is known about suicidality in adolescents with CP. This study aimed to examine the rates and characteristics of SI in a clinical sample of adolescents with CP compared with youth without CP. We also examined the relationship between pain-related and psychosocial factors and SI in youth.

Adolescents with (n=95) and without CP (n=91) completed self-reports of pain, functional disability, loneliness, family functioning, self-worth, and depressive symptoms including SI.

Rates of SI were not different in youth with CP when compared with those without ((Equation is included in full-text article.), P>0.05). The content of suicidal thoughts also did not vary by group. Multivariate analysis showed an identical pattern of psychosocial correlates of SI in youth with and without CP; higher depressive symptoms and lower self-worth were associated with higher SI severity, controlling for demographics. Pain characteristics and functional disability were not significantly related to SI in youth with CP.

Contrary to hypotheses and past findings in adults with CP, adolescents with CP did not endorse SI more frequently than peers without CP. Several psychosocial correlates were significantly associated with SI severity in our sample. Findings from this study serve as a foundation for future research on SI and associated risk factors in this population.